“Assessment by South Korean and USA intelligence is that the North is always ready for an additional nuclear test in the Punggye-ri area”, South Korea’s Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said at a news briefing, referring to the region near the northeastern coast that has been the site of the explosions.
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Shortly after the North’s test, South Korea’s top military intelligence officer, Kim Hwang-rok, said North Korea has two or three unused tunnels in the Punggy-ri test site where it can conduct an additional test if it wants.
The third defense stage, dubbed the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation, will target the regime’s leader and military headquarters by firing off numerous precision guided missiles as well as deploying Special Forces units to the North. Seoul and Washington are also considering stationing a USA strategic weaponry near the Korean peninsula at all times.
“An additional test could be conducted in a tunnel that branches off from the second tunnel or in the third tunnel, where preparations have been completed”, Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-Gyun told reporters at a press briefing.
Punggye-ri, near the northeastern coast, was the site of the North’s five previous nuclear explosions.
South Korea’s military said it was about 10 kilotons, enough to make it the North’s “strongest nuclear test ever”.
Last week, North Korea conducted its fifth and largest nuclear test, saying it has the ability to mount a warhead to an intercontinental ballistic missile, prompting fears of an imminent attack.
A fire drill of ballistic rockets by Hwasong artillery units of the KPA Strategic Force is pictured in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang September 6, 2016.
North Korea said there was no radioactive material leaked.
Yonhap, citing an unidentified military source, said Sunday that the plan would turn areas in Pyongyang, where the North’s war commanders were likely to hide, into ashes and “eliminate those places from the map permanently”.
Following the North’s nuclear test, Obama said he had spoken to the South Korean and Japanese leaders and agreed to work with the Security Council to enforce existing measures.
“We will be working very closely in the Security Council and beyond to come up with the strongest possible measure against North Korea’s latest actions”, said USA envoy Sung Kim on Sunday.
After the explosion, which caused a major seismic event, U.S. envoy Sung Kim said they were “working very closely in the Security Council and beyond to come up with the strongest possible measure against North Korea’s latest actions”.
That has raised fears the communist state is accelerating its efforts to develop a nuclear-tipped missile that could reach the US mainland.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday called for a “creative” response.
The GCC secretary general Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani has also condemned the nuclear test. The United States, Britain and France pushed for the 15-member body to impose new sanctions.
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“The essence of the issue is the conflict between the DPRK and the USA”, said Hua Chunying, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, using country’s official name.
